Bad break for Hall of Fame rider Gary Stevens

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Two days after giving the keynote address at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame induction, retired jockey Gary Stevens was in Albany Medical Center.

The Hall of Fame rider, prepping to take part in a parimutuel race at Arlington Park on Friday, was thrown from a Todd Pletcher-trained horse during Sunday morning workouts on the main track.

Pletcher was doing Stevens, now an analyst for HRTV, a favor when the rider asked if he could get on a few horses to prepare for the race at Arlington, which will put five retired riders against five current jockeys there.

Stevens was aboard Thatcatismine, an unraced 2-year-old. Thatcatismine was working in company with Dance City, another 2-year-old, who was being ridden by Angel Cordero Jr. Just past the finish line, Thatcatismine, collapsed and died instantly. Stevens was thrown.

He was taken to Albany where he was diagnosed with a broken left collarbone. After falling, he initially went back to Pletcher’s barn on the Oklahoma Training Track where he was icing his collarbone.

“I’ve been better,” he said while gingerly walking out of Pletcher’s office and into a waiting car.

Pletcher said he believed the horse suffered a heart attack or a ruptured aorta.

“It’s just one of those things, I don’t know what happened,” Pletcher said. “We’ll do an autopsy and fine out. He was traveling really well and then, all of a sudden, he started to stop abruptly — which kind of surprised me — and he fell.”